Colla Kingdom
Colla Kingdom | |||||||||
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| c. 1150–c. 1463 | |||||||||
The Colla culture area, in the northern Titicaca Basin, along with other altiplano polities. | |||||||||
| Capital | Hatunqulla (Urcosuyu), Azángaro (Umasuyu) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Quechua, Aymara | ||||||||
| Other languages | Puquina, Uru | ||||||||
| Government | Diarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | Late Intermediate | ||||||||
• Established | c. 1150 | ||||||||
| c. 1463 | |||||||||
• Revolt crushed by Topa Inca Yupanqui | c. 1483 | ||||||||
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The Colla, Qolla or Qulla Kingdom, chiefdom or Señorio was a polity established in the northwestern basin of lake Titicaca. It was a segmentary society, containing many lineages and subgroups.
The Colla chiefdom was one of the Aymara kingdoms that occupied part of the Collao plateau after the fall of Tiwanaku. In the mid-15th century the Collas possessed a vast territory, one of the largest of the Aymara kingdoms, which at the time the 9th Sapan Inka Pachakutiq Yupanqui Qhapaq the Intipchurin ("son of the sun"), conquered along with other political entities in the region. Often described as a powerful, unified state, archeological data indicates a more politically fragmented landscape, covered by defensive forts, called pukaras.
The Colla chiefdom was one of the most important altiplano chiefdoms, covering 20.000 square kilometres, and claiming heritage from the Tiwanaku civilisation. Linguistically, the Colla nation spoke puquina, possibly the language of Tiwanaku prior to its collapse.
During Inca rule, the Qullasuyu region was named after the Colla chiefdom, but referred to a larger territory, comprising all the Aymara kingdoms, because the Incas used the term "colla" to describe the entirety of the aymara population.